By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Staff
The Philadelphia 76ers learned on Tuesday that forward Nemanja Bjelica was planning to stay overseas and play in the Euroleague next season. Bjelica informed the Sixers of his intentions, but now it seems he's back in the hunt for an NBA job.
According to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports, the 30-year-old is in discussions to join the Sacramento Kings?
Forward Nemanja Bjelica and the Kings plan to begin discussing potential deal, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Bjelica represents a shooter on the wing/frontcourt, and a long-term fit makes sense.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 18, 2018
Exploring this a bit deeper, Bjelica spoke with The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski on Tuesday. He mentioned that him backing out of his deal with the Sixers had nothing to do about the organization itself, but more about it only being a one-year deal.
“It’s not about coach or the Philly organization,” Bjelica told The Athletic in a phone conversation on Tuesday. “Brett Brown, he’s a great guy and a great coach. The most important thing for me is family and some kind of stability.”
“I’m thankful for Philly for the opportunity, but I will always do what is the best for my family,” Bjelica said. “At that point, I was considering European life.”
Bjelica later admitted he made the decision "too quickly". You have to imagine that if he's talking with Sacramento, the deal would be for longer than a year, giving the veteran more stability for him and his family.
The Sixers had reportedly agreed to a contract for the room mid-level exception with Bjelica back on July 5, but hadn't officially signed with the team.